With 93% of consumers looking to online reviews to make their purchasing decisions, and an eye-watering 91% of 19-34 year olds trusting online reviews more than they’d trust personal recommendations, the influence of online word of mouth over a company’s reputation and success has never been more powerful.
With this in mind, it’s a good idea to try to get as many high-quality reviews as you can to attract more clients to your career coaching agency.
But how can you encourage happy clients to leave reviews for your coaching business? Do you just go up to your clients and ask them?
Yes!
You can do just that! And there are plenty of other ways you increase the number of high-quality online reviews left for your business.
Today we’ll go through 7 ways to get more online reviews that will help your business get the attention it deserves (and attract more clients as a result).
Table of Contents
Let’s hit the obvious one first. Always follow up with your happy clients to get their opinion or feedback on your services.
Contacting your happy clients is a pretty-much-guaranteed way of getting positive reviews about your services.
Plus, if somebody is happy with the excellent coaching services you provided them, they won’t have any problem leaving a review – they’ll want to help you to help others.
The best way to follow up with clients is by either asking them in person after a coaching session or sending them a follow-up email.
There’s no harm in asking a quick “hey, hope that session was helpful; if you have any feedback at all, would you mind leaving a review on my website/social media/Google Business Profile.”
Chances are they’re going to tell you it’s no problem, and they’ll do it right away.
However, sometimes asking in person doesn’t always go as well. Not because your client doesn’t want to give you a review but more so that they forget. It’s easy to say you’ll leave a review, then leave the office and completely forget.
Life happens!
So, send them a follow-up email asking them if they could leave a review on your website. You can even ask if they’d reply with a link to the review so you can read it and respond to any issues they might be having with your services.
Previously known as Google My Business, Google Business Profile is a fantastic free marketing tool that you can use to attract more clients to your business, but you can also use it to capture reviews.
Everybody uses Google Business Profiles to check reviews of places they want to work with. Just think about it! When you’re going to a restaurant, how many times do you check the little side profile on Google that details everything about the restaurant? How many times do you scroll through the reviews to make sure the food is as good as it claims to be?
Well, people don’t just do this for restaurants, and they’ll definitely check your business out on Google Business Profile before committing to your coaching services.
So if you don’t have a Google Business Profile set up, now is the time to build one so you can start getting more reviews on it.
Your reviews on Google Business Profile also appear as stars at the top of your profile. More people will want to work with your company if you can get enough reviews to show off a 5-star rating. 49% of consumers want to see at least a 4-star rating before they decide to work with a company.
It’s pretty simple, really! Just type in the name of your career coaching company. Chances are there’s already an unclaimed account waiting for you. All you have to do then is click claim this business. If there isn’t one, just visit the Google Business Profile website and create your own.
From here, all you have to do is optimize it for your audience!
This means:
A lot of your clients might leave reviews automatically, but to encourage them, you can always email them or ask them face to face to leave a review on your Google Business Profile.
Responding to reviews is just as important as getting them, and you must respond to both negative and positive reviews. 89% of consumers read a company’s response to a review when making their decision to work with them.
Responding to positive reviews thanking your clients will make them feel appreciated and wanted. They won’t feel as though the review they left went unnoticed, and they’ll feel a lot closer to your business.
What does this mean for you?
Well, the closer they feel to your coaching business, the more likely they’re going to work with you again. If they just finished a series of coaching sessions with you, they might just think about returning when they notice how appreciative you were of their feedback.
Negative reviews are just as critical to your online success as positive reviews are, if not more important. Responding to a negative review in a helpful and positive tone will help show your audience that you’re a decent company that genuinely cares about its clients.
If a client has issues with your services or has a problem with your offerings, then talking with them and asking them how you can help will demonstrate that you’re a kind and genuine company.
Plus, if you successfully help your negative reviewer, you might just turn that negative review into a positive review!
If you’re failing to get reviews the old-fashioned way by simply asking, consider trying something a bit more enticing.
By offering an incentive for clients to leave a review, you might see a lot more of your clients will be inclined to leave one.
You could offer a rewards program for reviews like if they leave a review, they get 10% off their next coaching session.
Or, you could host a contest!
For everybody who leaves a review, they’ll be in with a chance of winning a fantastic prize. These prizes can be things like money off your services, free sessions, or even a downloadable guide.
There are loads of ways to offer incentives to your clients, and it’s a secure way to get a few more reviews through the door.
Many businesses often send out emails asking for reviews, but they don’t supply any link to where the client is meant to write the review!
If your client isn’t tech-savvy or just doesn’t have the patience to find your website or social media online, they’re probably not going to leave a review if you don’t link directly to where you want them to leave it.
If you’re sending an email to your clients asking them to leave a review, be sure to include a clear link to where you want them to write their feedback.
For example, if you want them to write a review on your Google Business Profile, don’t just link to your profile, link to the review page.
This means that when they click on the link, all they have to do is start writing right away instead of scrolling. You’d be amazed how quickly people give up if it’s too much effort! So make it as easy as possible for them to leave feedback.
When adding reviews or testimonials to your website, add a touch of personalization by using your reviewer’s picture and name.
This shows your potential clients that your reviews aren’t fabricated from thin air, but are from genuine people who have genuinely benefited from your brilliant business coaching services.
Adding personalization to your testimonials can also encourage other people to leave reviews! There’s just something about being on a website that many people love.
Plus, it’s a great way of thanking your reviewers by showing them they’re not just a number but a name and a face you enjoyed working with.
You can post a link directly to your Google Business Profile review section or to the review section on your website and ask your followers to leave reviews.
Many of your clients probably follow you on social media, and if they haven’t left you a review yet and see your post on social, they’ll be inclined to leave one.
If people respond to your post with a ‘done’ or ‘I left a review,’ be sure to respond thanking them! You can even show your appreciation by offering a percentage of your services.
By publicly showing you’re offering a little incentive on your social media, more people might tune in and leave reviews too.
Top Tip! Don’t forget to share any reviews on social media too. By sharing feedback, you can show your appreciation for your clients, and you can encourage others to leave reviews in hopes they’ll get shared on social. If your clients are on social media, don’t forget to tag them in the post, too, to make them feel extra special!
We hope you’ve got plenty of helpful tips to get more reviews for your website! If you have any questions about getting more high-quality reviews for your coaching business, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch with our team today to talk about how you can start getting more high-quality reviews online!
Want some guidance writing those emails asking your clients for reviews?
Get in touch today – we’d be happy to help!
